Heated window wiper



June 24, 1958 F. MOMILLEN HEATED WINDOW WIPER Filed Aug. 51, 1955 INVENTOR. Foster McMillen ATTORNEY of the'wiper arm, to establish HEATED wnsnow WIPER Foster McMillen, Staten Island, N. Y., assignor to Kearfott Company, Inc.," Little Falls, N. J., a corporation 7 of New York Application August 3 1, 1955, Serial No. 531,782 I.

6 Claims. (Cl. 1s 2s0.s) A

This invention rel'atesto windowswiper assemblies, and particularly to a motor-operated window wiper, foruse in an application where the window and the wiper will be exposed tosever'e a bient Weather and low-temperatureconditions.

-In such application moisture andsnow' may be blown against the window and the wiper atgale velocities and at .freezing temperatures, and could accumulate quickly to form ice on the window and on the wiper to such an extent as to interfere with the normal operation of the wiper. c

' Avprima'ry object of this invention is to provide a swivelled or oscillating wiper assembly, including a heater for vthezwiper, the heater being located and shaped to enfold the region enclosing the actuated or swivelled end a heated zone at such 'actuprevent the formation and on thefswivelled end" of atedtend of the wiper arm, to accumulation of snow or ice,

a thewiper arm, that might interfere with thenormal operation of the wiper arm;

Another object of the 'invention is to provide a wiper arm assembly includinga protective heater shaped and adapted for mounting in such manner as to-beeasily placed in operating position," adjacent the actuated'or swivelled end of the'arni, or' to'b'eremoved from operating position to permit access to the arm, for replacement or repair of the heater or of thfe arm.

' Another object of this invention is to provide a heater formed .and 'sha'p'ed to permit simple and ready application to aiwiperassembly and to permit easy removal from the wiper assembly, to permit access to the wiper arm or to the heater itself,'forreplacement or repai'r."

One specific use; to which'the present invention is particularly applied to'is to keep clear a selected area of an observation window of a pilot'house or navigation bridge of a sea-going vessel. The weather conditions that may be-encountered will vary over a wide range, including rain and snow at temperatures near or below the freezing I point.

Ordinarily, a window wiper blade is relied upon for wiping vapor and moisture from the front or exposed surface of the window panel. The blade is operated by'one end of an arm. The other end of the arm is connected to and actuated by an oscillatable or swivelled shaft which is oscillated about the shaft .axis tomove. the arm and the wiper blade, Wheretthe arm extends upward from such axis, such moisture or snow wipedbythe blade may slide down, the wiper arm onto the. oscillatable I shaft and thenfr'eeze, to, form and; accumulate ice' to, an extent that would interfere with thenormal operation-of the wiper arm.

Similarly, moisture isnow could accumulate and.

form an enlarging ice mass in'the region between the wiper arm and the window, or1 the window jframelthat would interferewith the operation of th'ejarm A By the present invention, however,

at th'e lower end of the' wiper arm between the arm and the fg'enerali regi'on 1 heater, with the -to melt the snow and The wiper blade 30 thewindow, and between the arm and the supporting structure for the swivelling device for the arm, is heated thus prevent ice from forming in the region where it would interfere with the operation of the arm. I

The construction'and the manner of operation of a protected window wiper, and of a heater therefore, in accordance with the present invention, are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side view, partiallyin elevation, and

partially in section, showing part of a" window panel and a wiper assembly mounted adjacent thereto, with a heater disposed adjacent the wiping arm and window frame, to prevent the accumulation and packing of snow or ice at the swivelled end ofthe wiper arm;

Figure'2 is a front elevational view of asimilar wiper assembly for a double wiper blade, showing .a protective heating element enfolding the region around the swivel axis and the space between arm and window, near the axis; and

Figure 3 is .a perspective view of the heater, showing its form and disposition to enfold the lower end (of the wiper arm.'

" As shown in Figure 1, a plate glass 'window panel 10 is supported in a frame 11 on a structural framework, indicated schematically by a walI' 12, with suitable fastening and'supporting elements such asa-bracket and. bolt assembly-'13} The wall 12'represents part of the sup porting structure 'of a ship or vessel upon which the window is carried as part of an observation or lookout station. Theouter surface 15 of the window panel is exposed to outside weather conditions, and, in the course of its service, may be subjected to low temperatures at or below-freezing, under conditions of rain or'snow.

' Normally, the outer surface 10 is arranged to be kept clear of moisture,*or' rain, or snow, by a wiper 20 which is supported on and operated by the upper endof a'wiper arm 21, The lower end of the wiper arm 21 is arrangedto be'ac'tuated by a shaft 22, which in turn, is arranged to be oscillated through a limited angle by an electric motor 23 and an eccentric device enclosed in a housing 24. The shaft 22 is supported in a bearing 25 in the motor housing 24, and the motor housingis supportedon the main structure 12 by suitable, brackets 26 and 27. I

The lower end of the w'penarm and within a hollow channel-shaped bracket 128-having a The channel bracket 28 serves also as a support for a spring element (not shown) to bias the wiperarm towards the window. At the same time, the bracket :28 serves as a simple adapte'r onto which the arm may be easily fitted for assembly, and from which. the arm, may be easily removed for purposes for replacement or repair of the wiper or arm.

The wiper 20 consists generally lof an elongated rubber wiper blade 30 and a supportingrigid shroud 31.: The rubber blade 30 usually has a front wiping edge that engages the glass surface and a backwardly extending rib, 33 by means of which the. metallic shroud 31 holds thewiper blade tightly to manipulate the front edge and its shroud. 31 constitute a relawiththe back edge of the shroud tively thin element, Y H v from the front surface extending only a short distance 15,o f thewindow panel 10. A V The function of the'wiperl is such that thefoperating arm 21 is placed as close as possibleto, the back edge ofm e pertblade s ou .3 rd r t9.' P t .a1 m m erating force to the blade. Cons eque1 1 tly, the;space 35, .nearlthe bottom of the windowpanel,loland the hollow bracket 28 eon stitutesa rel 15 of the window panel 21 is supported on 1 3 sma l. as s ice, within which'damp sticky snow could readily accumulate gram for controlling such motion, as

3 and pack, and quickly convert to ice, when temperature is at or below the freezing point.

In the same manner, moisture or rain or snow dripping down the wiper arm could convert to snow or ice and accumulate at the lower end of .the wiper arm, between wiper arm and bearing or motor housing.

An accumulation .of ice at .the lower end of theoperating'arm would, of course, cover .the lower end of the operating arm and could possibly extend over to the adjacent structure of the motor housing 24, with consequent interference with the normal operation of the wiper arm.

Thus, snow or ice could pack and form between the arm bracket 28 and the supporting structure for the window, alonglthe lower rim of the window panel 10, and, similarly, snow andicecould form and packbetween the arm and the motor housing 2.4.

Inorder to preventsuch snow packing and ice formation adjacent the lower endof the wiper arm 21, a heater 40 is disposed to heat the region adjacentthe lower end the ambient of the wiper arm. As .shown in the drawings, the heater 7 40 consists ,of a heating element 41.emb edded in a heatresistant ,thermo-setting .plastic material 42, which may be readily molded in any desirable shape to encase the heating element 41. The heating element consists of a metallic conductor of a suitable metallic alloy with proper insulating covering, such as woven glass fabric; and is preferably formed as a woven fabric-type structure so it willbe sufficiently flexible to assume a desired formation.

{The heater 40, in this instance, is shown as having a substantially Js-shaped section, with a high wall 43 and ashort .wall ,44. The .short'wall 4,4' is provided with a deep notch or opening v'45 to accommodate the operating shaft from the motor 23 to the lower end of the channel bracket ZS, which supports thelower end .ofthe operating arm. Such notch permits theheater 40 tobe positioned to straddle the operating shaft;

For the purpose of further illustration, a wiper of a parallel operating type is shown in Fig. 2. Theblade is controlled; to be held in parallel. positions throughout its movement. In orderto maintain the necessary paralleloauxiliary arm .47 and a connecting link 48 .are provided, with link 48 disposed between the auxiliary arm 47 and a connector 49 on the blade yoke 20. Also shownis .a connection to-an additional blade, to be controlled by the same motor. For that-p urpose, a connecting arm 51 is shown extending from the main wiping arrn 21 .to the remotely spaced arrn of the second wiper, that is not shown.

,As shown inFigures-Zand 3, thechannel shaped bracket 28 is secured to motor shaft 22, and the auxiliary arm 47 is -pivoted' at its lower end on a p in 57 thatis suitably supportedand anchored on the motor housing. The notch 45 in the short wall 44 of thefheater is wide enough to straddle both the shaft 22 and the pin ,57.

The heater 40,-as a unit, is mounted on its supporting bracket 55 by suitable bolts 61, and the bracket 55 is secured to the motor indicated at 62, 63 and 64.

The heater 40 is individually mounted on a supporting and mounting bracket 55, and the bracket 55 is, in turn, individually mounted on the motor housing 24. By means of such arrangement, the heater 40 may be assembled on the motor before or after the motor" is mounted on its supporting brackets 25 and 26. Moreover, in case it becomes necessary to replace or to repair the wiper, or to adjust its position on the motor shaft, the heater and its supporting bracket'55 may be easily removed as a unit to .provldeisu chv access to ithe bragket at the motor shaft. fSuch simple mounting also' permits pasy replacement of the heater.

The disposition oflthe heater 40, as shown ,in Figure 2, snebl sithehete 4 .1 maintai he tsdizq s e in theIlowerend ofthe wiper arm and around the shaft ZZ housing by'suit able bolts and clips snow and ice could accumulate and pack, to grow over into the path of the movement of the bracket 28 for the arm, or into the path .of the lower edge of thelwiper blade 20.

Thus by application of a simple concentrated heater adjacent the regions around the axis at the lower-"lend of the'oscillatingwiper' arm, those regions are kept warm enough to prevent the accumulation of snow or ice that would interfere with the operation of the wiper arm or blade.

It is not necessary to melt all the snow or ice that may come into the spaces to be controlled by the heater. The formation of a softened surface on the snow or ice provides a wetfilm thatacts'as a-lubricant to aidthe snow oriceto loseitsadherence to the several metallicsurfa-ces and to drop from them; 1 i

The invention .hasbeen illustrated in simple form to show one modification thereof. Changes may be madein the arrangement, in theconstruction, or in the relative disposition of the heaterin respect to its cooperating elements, however, without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as herein described.

,What is claimed is:

l. Awindshield cleaner for a transparent viewing window that isto some .as .a windshield, and having its outer surface exposed .to ambient weather conditions, said cleaner comprising a wiper to wipe a pre-determined area of the exposed ,outer surface; an actuating arm for the wiper; a motor; an oscillating device operable by the motor to oscillate the actuating said oscillating device .having a, stub shaft for connection to one end of the actuating arm; a casingienclosingsth'e motor and the oscillating device and having an openingto .perrriit the stub shaft to protrudeout of the .casing,,the,wall -encircling said opening serving to accommodate and support a bearing to jour= r al theprotrudingstubshaft; and heating means provid- 18 l -iwmHgture-field :around the stub shaft to prevent the accurnulation of .snow. or', the formation of ice between t t shaf ,,an. 1.;the .bearing that might interfere with the normal free, oscillationiof fthe, stub shaft, said-heating means consisting of .a ,J-shape sectionwith a notch in .2. The, windshield set out in claim 1, in which a bracket,is'retnovably;secured to and supported on the ,housing enclosing the motor and oscillator; and the heatingrneansissecured to the. bracketto permit the bracket to be applied, or to be removed, as a unit, to or from said housing. V

.u3.- The windshield cleaner as in claim 1, in which said heatingmeans consists'of a heating element eiic'a'sed in a weather-resistant and high-temperature-resistant'insulating material. V -4. A heater, for use with an oscillata ble, window wiper having a wiper arm with one end :of the arm connected to an actuating 'shaft with the shaft disposed to swivelabout I V oscillate Ithe" arm, the heaterycomprisingi a heating element, disposed ace'rit, the swivel 'aXis; a thermosetting and ,being .of substantially 'J-shape to fit around -the swivelled,endofjthewiper .Qarrn, with the short wall of the J-seet ion beinginotch ed to accommodate and straddle the spac iiegiorigsurrounding the; swivelled end of the arm connection to thej'actuatillg Shaft; and, ternrinal conduetorsc cted to thehfatingelementand ancliored in the plastic casing and extending out beyond the casing for connection to an external circuit.

5. A heater as in claim 4, comprising, addition-ally, a

bracket for supporting the heater as a unit, the bracket being bifurcated to slip over and straddle the space region surrounding the swivelled end of the arm and the actuator shaft, to permit simple and ready application, or removal, of the bracket and the heater as a unit.

6. A heater, for use with an oscillatable window wiper having a wiper arm with one end of the arm connected 10 2271225 to an actuating shaft, with the shaft disposed to swivel 5 ating shaft and to enfold the swivel end of the wiper arm References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hetfernan J an. 27, 1942 2,677,143 Blaney May 4, 1954 

